Orlando Pirates will get the new campaign moving faced with the same old demands from The Ghost despite adding four trophies in the last two years.
Pirates will be the hosts when SuperSport United take the short trip along the N1 South to Orlando Stadium on Saturday in the first MTN8 quarterfinal.
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For the Bucs skipper – Innocent Maela – he needs no reminders about the task ahead.
For all the seven years that Maela has spent at the club, he has seen Mamelodi Sundowns making a clean sweep in the league, forcing the Soweto giants to settle for second on four occasions throughout that time.
With the league title out of reach, this has left Pirates with only the cup competitions to chase, and they have won five in the last seven years, which has included consecutive MTN8 titles.
"We are prepared to defend our trophy," highlights Maela.
"We have all agreed that since we are starting from the bottom again, we must show that we want to win it and we cannot depend on the success of last season.
""Traveling to Spain to play against tough opponents who are aggressive, which is not what we are used to in South Africa tactically, will help us when we play here locally.
"We learnt from our trip in Spain," says Maela, who has the task of wearing the armband when available to play.
"The role is still the same for me, which is to support the team as much as I can whether I'm playing or not.
"We are a team, and you must support those that are playing all the time because eventually you will be the one who will start.
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"Like last season, I started the MTN8 final, and the guys were there to support me.
"If we are to be in a position to challenge for the league and all trophies, then we need everyone to be on the same page whether starting or not," says Maela, who turns 32 on 14 August.